Gate hook



Nov. 23, 1954 J. B. FREYSINGER 2,695,187

GATE HOOK Filed Aug. 14, 1952 INVEN TOR. JOHN B. FPEYS/NGEQ I ML United States Paten-t'OfiFice GATE HOOK John B. Freysinger, New Britain, Conn., assignor to North & Judd Manufacturing Company, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application August 14, 1952, Serial No. 304,295 3 Claims. (Cl. 292-108) This invention relates to door or gate hooks and has for an object the provision of a hook of this character which is easily fastened or unfastened by a human being, but which cannot be opened by an animal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a gate hook which eifectively resists sticking, binding, and freezing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gate hook which is simple, inexpensive, and readily installed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a gate hook which is self-locking upon closing.

Other objects pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the gate hook in closed or latched position, the phantom outline of the keeper indicating the position into which the keeper must be moved to unlatch said hook;

Figure 2 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows the gate hook in the process of being moved upwardly with the keeper still in latching position; and,

Figure 4 shows the gate hook in the process of being moved in a downward direction depicting the keeper in a deflected position.

Referring in detail to the drawing, a door or gate is fragmentarily shown in each of the figures and has mounted thereon a staple 12. Similarly, a fragment of a door jamb or gate post 14 is provided with a staple 16. The door or gate 10 is hinged in a conventional fashion to a non-disclosed post, and is therefore movable into an open or closed relationship with the post 14.

A hook member bearing the reference numeral 18 includes a shank 20 having an eye 22 at one end which is pivotally engaged with the staple 12. The other end of the hook member 18 is generally undulated to provide a hook portion 24 which resembles an inverted or downwardly facing letter U, the hook portion 24 being engageable with the staple 16. Intermediate the shank 20 and the hook portion 24 is an upwardly facing U-shaped portion 26 which comprises substantially vertical legs 28 and 30 connected at their lower ends by a bridging section 32.

Carried on the hook member 26 is a keeper designated generally by the reference numeral 34. This keeper resembles somewhat the outline of a numeral 6 which includes two loop sections 36 and 38 respectively encircling the substantially vertical legs 28 and 30 of the intermediate U-shaped portion 26. The loop sections 36 and 38 provide transverse portions 40, 42, and 44. The transverse portion 40 is so arranged that when the keeper 34 is horizontal it will underlie a portion of the staple 16. Also, when the keeper 34 is generally horizontal, the transverse portion 44 abuts against the underside of the shank 20. The other transverse portion, that is the portion labeled 42, is nested or cradled within the bight of the U-shaped portion 26, this transverse portion thereby serving as a fulcrum for the entire keeper 34.

In use, the staples 12 and 16 are properly spaced for the particular size of hook member 18 which is to be employed, the staple 12 pivotally engaging the eye 22 as clearly shown in the several figures of the drawing. As-

will be in part obvious, and in part suming that the hook member 18 is in its closed position, this position being shown in Figure 1, to disengage the hook end 24 from its associated staple 16, it is only necessary to tilt the keeper 34 into the dotted line position shown in Figure 1. The solid line position of the keeper 34 in Figure 1 clearly shows that the transverse portion 40 assumes a proximate relation with the free end of the hook portion 24 andalso underlies a section of the staple 16 when the keeper is horizontal, whereas the dotted line position of the keeper illustrates that it is possible by tilting the keeper in a clockwise direction to so move the transverse portion 40 that it will no longer underlie the staple 16. After the keeper 34 has been tilted into the position shown in dotted outline in Figure 1, the hook member 18 may be raised without obstructive interference from the transverse portion 40,

since in its tilted position the transverse portion 40 clears the staple 16.

If the keeper 34 is not tilted into the dotted line position shown in Figure 1, the transverse portion 40 will abut or strike the staple 16 when an attempt is made the gate serving to confine animals within an enclosure, for if an animal brushed against the hook to thereby produce an upward movement of the hook end 24, it would merely bring the transverse portion 40 of the keeper into arrestive engagement with the staple 16 and the hook could not be disengaged from such staple.

During this action, that is to say, with the end 24 of the hook member 18 being moved upwardly, the transverse portion 42 which is nested in the bight of the U- shaped portion 26 will act as a fulcrum for the keeper 34 with the consequent result that the transverse portion 44 will abut the underside of the shank 20. This action, of course, prevents any downward deflection of the transverse portion 40, thereby assuring a positive retention of the hook portion or end 24 by the staple 16 and the hook thus remains latched.

However, assuming that the hook end 24 has been disengaged from the staple 16 by first having manually tilted the keeper 34 into the inclined dotted position shown in Figure 1, then when the hook member 18 is moved downwardly to re-engage the hook end 24 with the staple 16, as shown by the arrow in Figure 4, the keeper 34 having been first released by the operator, the keeper will be deflected or urged by the staple .from its normal horizontal position into substantially the inclined position shown in Figure 4. As the hook member 18 is moved downwardly, the keeper fulcrums about the transverse portion 42 which as above described nests with the bight of the U-shaped portion 26; this tilting or pivoting of the keeper 34, of course, results in the transverse portion 44 being moved downwardly away from the shank 20 rather than against the shank as would be the situation present when the hook 18 is moved in the direction shown in Figure 3. Thus, the keeper 34 encounters no obstructive interference and the transverse portion literally slides or grazes over the staple 16 when moved in the direction depicted in Figure 4, thereby permitting the keeper to immediately return to the horizontal position shown in Figure 1 after the transverse portion 40 has passed the staple 16. As will be apparent from the drawing, the transverse portion 40 is spaced farther from the transverse portion 42, than is the transverse portion 44, and in this way the end of the keeper nearest the staple 16 is the heavier of the two ends, which assures the return of the keeper to the above mentioned horizontal position.

In view of the above explanation, it is thought quite apparent that my gate hook will prevent the escape of animals from a pen or enclosure having mounted thereon a hook member comprised of the elements above referred to. Further, the keeper 34 which is freely pivotal relative to the U-shaped portion 26 does not bind or stick and eifectively resists freezing. If for any reason the keeper 34 should freeze, the ice may be very easily broken loose by being struck with any available imple- .Figure 2, whereas O ment, since the'keeper'is readily accessible for this operation. Still further, it will be-observed that the keeper is side of the shank 20. Further, the hook forming the subject matter of this invention is constructed of only 'tWo parts, excluding the staples, which can be inexr'aensively fabricated. For example, the keeper 34 maybe heavy gauge wire stock 'bent into the configuration best seen in the member 18 may be readily cast as a separate unit.

I claim as my invention:

.1. A gate hook comprising a shank, a .hook and an upwardly-facing U-shaped bight, .a keeper member :loosel y cradled in said bight, a first hooked portion on said keeper-encircling the side of said bight adjacent'said shank and abutting the downward side of said'shank, and a secnd hooked portion .on said keeper encircling the other side of said bight and extending across themouth of said hook into closely spaced non-contacting relation with the distal end of said hook.

2. A gate hook comprising .a 'hooktmeniber having a shank portion, a downwardly facinghook portion, and an upwardly facing U-shaped :portion intermediate fsaid first two portions, and a keeper member having a pair of hook sections encircling the legs of said U-shaped portion to form a pair of transverse end portions and a transverse intermediate portion, said intermediate portion being pivotally loosely cradled in the :bight of said U- shaped portion and one of said end portions being dis- 4 posed in closely adjacent non-contacting relation with the distal endof said hook portion when the other end portion is in abutting relation with the downward side of said shank portion.

3. A gate hook for connecting to spaced staples comprising a hook member having a shank portion provided with an eye at one end adapted for in pivotal engagement with one staple, a downwardly facing U-shaped hook portion at the other end adapted for engagement with the other staple and an upwardly facing U-shaped portion intermediate said shank and said U-shaped hook portion, and an elongated keeper member having a pair of hook sections encircling the legs of said upwardly facing U-shaped portion to form a .pair of transverse end portions and a transverse intermediate portion, said intermediate transverse portion 'being pivotally loosely cradled in the bight of said upwardly facing U-shaped portion and one of said transverse end portions being disposed in closely spaced relation to the-distal end of said hook and adapted to lie subjacent said other staple when the other transverse end portion is in abutting relation with said shank portion, 'said link member being pivotal to permit rotating said one transverse end portion from beneath said :staple when said other transverse end portion is moved in a direction away from said shank.

References Cited .in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 572,446 Proctor -n Dec. l, 1896 842,970 Parsons Dec. 5, 1907 2,470,706 Larson t May 17, 1949 

